The ceremony held in Madrid was attended by Juan José Hidalgo, executive president of Globalia, the parent company of Air Europa, Maria-Jose Hidalgo, CEO of Air Europa, Patrick Alexandre, executive vice president of International Commercial Division, Air France and Dominique Patry.

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"The Associate Airline Program will enable us to increase our global offer to customers by further improving our services and frequencies," added Patrick Alexandre.

Patrick Alexandre, executive VP for international affairs and ground operations for Air France, said: "When we proposed our merger, critics said there would be a culture shock between the French and the Dutch.

"The Air France executive board decided this morning ... to invest in seven new aircraft, seven 777-300s, specially ordered to be deployed in the Caribbean and in Reunion," Patrick Alexandre, Air France deputy director general, said at a news conference.

Of the seven aircraft mentioned by Alexandre, only four represent new purchases, under the form of options taken on an order announced on October 4, 2000 that included 10 firm orders and 10 options, an Air France spokeswoman told AFP.

"It's a matter of taking up four options," she said.

The three other aircraft represent previous purchases that would be deployed in the French overseas territories.

The catalog price of the 777-300 ranges between 218.0 million and 245.5 million dollars, according to Boeing's website.

Alexandre said the decision on the seven aircraft would be approved later Wednesday by the Air France-KLM executive board.

"I can announce to you that the first two of these aircraft will be put into service in April 2006," he told reporters.